Media organizations, UN-OCHA partners with Union Bank to raise support for IDPs’

As part of efforts to improve the conditions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country, notable media organizations in partnership with Union Bank have publicly announced the launch of the WeCare4IDPs campaign.

WeCare4IDPs is a citizenship initiative which creates a platform for all Nigerians – individuals and corporate bodies to be a part of the solution in matters concerning IDPs by raising funds to support them.

This was announced during a partnership event which took place in Lagos recently.

Media personalities and celebrities involved in the campaign include Soni Irabor, CEO, Ruyi Communications; Toke Ibru, Executive Director, Guardian Newspapers; Morayo Afolabi-Brown, Head of Programmes, TVC Entertainment; Benny Ark, Head of Programmes, City FM; Onimisi Adaba, Operations Manager, Cool FM; Deji Awokoya, General Manager, Beat FM; Steve Onu (Yaw); Otto Orondaam, Executive Director, Slum2School; Bukky Shonibare, Co-ordinator, Adopt-A-Camp; Tosin Bucknor, Timi Dakolo, Cobhams Asuquo, Eromo Egbejule, Isime Esene, among other notable Nigerians.

The WeCare4IDPs campaign is calling on 1 million Nigerians to donate at least N1,000 during the campaign which runs from December 16th to December 31st.  Funds raised will go directly to funding direct impact projects defined in the 2017 Nigeria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) developed by the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) with the support of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning.

It is estimated that more than 8.5 million people have been affected by the insurgency in the North East and require humanitarian assistance.

About 6.9 million children and adults are expected to be impacted if the 2017 HRP is fully implemented.

WeCare4IDPs is expected to help bridge funding gaps to implementing the HRP which is estimated will require USD $1.05bn to fully implement the plan.

Funds raised from this initiative will be committed towards the implementation of projects in 5 key areas:

• Reducing the scourge of malnutrition faced by IDPs, especially children
• Preventing the potential for the spread of disease by improving sanitation and access to water
• Reducing mortality rate, especially in children, by providing access to improved healthcare
• Providing access to basic education for displaced children living in camps and host communities
•  Re-integrating IDPs into society through economic empowerment and skills training.